It means gaining efficiencies that enable a law firm to provide better service to its clients in less time and therefore at a lower cost.

How are digital tools impacting your practice?

They are reducing our costs while at the same time freeing up our lawyers and our staff from having to spend time on less interesting matters.

How are customers responding to digital workflow?

They love it because they can instantly recognize that it increases convenience and cost-effectiveness.

What are key trends for the legal industry?

Clients do not want to pay law firms high fees for work that could be done by someone other than a top tier experienced lawyer. The days of charging high rates for inexperienced lawyers to “learn on the job” are over. Law firms have to react to this trend by honing their specialties and by drastically reducing the fees incurred on more rote and menial aspects of a matter.

How are you collaborating with your colleagues and outside counsel via digital tools?

We use DocuSign, Dropbox, Clio and Skype. We use the Cloud extensively. All of these things in various ways enhance our relationship with our clients.

What key technological and digital 'disruptions' do you think will dominate society?

Sharing: Uber is going to reduce the number of cars and change how the next generation views cars. AirBnb may have that same sort of impact on travel. We will see some of this in the law field as law firms start sharing out specialized personnel and also borrow people from other companies.

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About Daniel:

Dan Harris is internationally regarded as a leading authority on legal matters related to doing business in China and in other emerging economies in Asia. Forbes Magazine, Business Week, Fortune Magazine, BBC News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Economist, CNBC, The New York Times, and many other major media players, have looked to him for his perspective on international law issues.

Dan writes and speaks extensively on Chinese law with a focus on protecting foreign businesses in their China operations. His China Law Blog, co-authored by HM Lawyer Steve Dickinson, is regarded as one of the best law blogs on the web today. The ABA Journal recently named the China Law Blog to its Blawg Hall of Fame (a designation given to the top 20 law blogs of all time).